Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake | The No-Bake Showstopper

This cheesecake is fresh in taste, light in texture and super easy to make. A maximum of 20 minutes to prepare and serving 12 generous portions, this is a quick recipe that definitely offers the wow-factor and doesn’t just need to be reserved for summer guests – it works all year round.

Ingredients

• 260g digestive biscuits
• 110g butter, melted (we use salted to balance out the sweetness)
• 600g cream cheese
• 300ml double cream
• 120g icing sugar
• 300g blueberries
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced

Method

1. Before you begin, lightly butter and line a 25cm spring form or loose bottomed tin with baking paper, if you have a 23cm tin this will work just as well.
2. Place the digestives into a food processor and blitz until the biscuits are crushed into crumbs (we left ours quite chunky). If you prefer a more traditional approach, put the digestives into a food bag, zip tight and and crush using a rolling pin. Pour the crumbs into a bowl and mix in the melted butter until all crumbs are completely coated. Empty the bowl into the lined tin and press down firmly with a metal spoon pushing out from the centre, until you have an even layer. Chill for a minimum of 15 minutes in the fridge whilst you prepare the topping.
3. To make the creamy topping, combine the cream cheese, double cream, icing sugar and half of the lemon zest in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture becomes a thick consistency with very little wobble (we used a KitchenAid electric mixer but an electric hand-whisk works just as well), pour in the freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix again until fully combined. Gently fold in the blueberries being careful not to squash them if possible and spoon the mixture onto the chilled biscuit base, firmly spread out the mixture to remove any air bubbles and smooth out where necessary, don’t worry, it doesn’t need to look perfect! Leave to set in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.
4. Once set, remove from the fridge and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before removing from the tin. For a spring form tin, you may need to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen and for a loose bottom tin, place a can underneath before gently pulling the sides of the tin down. Slow and steady wins the race with this. Carefully slip the cheesecake onto a serving plate of choice, removing the paper and metal base.
5. To decorate, form a semi-circle with the remaining blueberries before sprinkling over crushed pistachios and the remaining lemon zest (be sure the do this from a height to try and avoid clumps of lemon).
6. If you aren’t a huge fan of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries work just as well.

Tableware by Burleigh Pottery

Napkins by Tori Murphy

Chopping board by Humphrey Munson

Images: HM